If he's close enough so I know that it will enter with enough downward angle to get into the boiler room.

I'm curious why your arrow didn't bury itself, did you nick the spine or hit a rib or something? Just curious because i'd think you'd have more penetration than that.

Awesome photo by the way!

In order for the arrow in the photo to reach the "boiler room" it would need to be about 40" long.

We should remember that ribs are spaced very closely where they attach to the spine. Any shot taken straight down on a deer's back is likely to encounter a significant amount of bone.

That's correct, and is also the major drawback to that shot. You DO NOT have a very large shot window when they're straight away. If you do hit the window it will be a good shot, but if you're off by just a little it will be bad. IMO, not a high percentage shot, and one I wouldn't take with my equipment.

Patriot nailed it. If that is straight away shot it should be passed on esp. by your average bowhunter/shooter. More respect should be given to the animal than that. Your average shooter can get into a problem with the shot and wound the deer. If that deer doesnt drop within sight you have no blood trail to follow with that arrow not poking thru. Maybe if you are one of the guys that can shoot 299 on the spots you can take it but I am not a fan. Besides, the shot is treading dangerously close to those backstraps!

Depends on a host of factors. If he was under 20 yards, yes. If he was at 40 yards, no. I certainly respect the whitetail deer, and I hope my next statement isn't taken in the wrong context, but stuff happens. I've missed "chip shots" that I should have made and don't necessarly regret taking the shots. My shot selection is mainly based on my comfort with the shot, as well as a host of other variables. While I try to mitigate stupid decisions, especially when a live animal which I respect very much is the target, I'm got to TRY not to lose too much sleep if I make a mistake. It's a sickening feeling when you wound a deer and they get away and I strive every year to not make mistakes of past seasons, but if I had a shot that I felt I could pull off the majority of the time and it was an animal that I wanted to harvest, then i'm taking the shot.
Hopefully that's taken in the appropriate context and isn't read as if I have malicious intentions towards Whitetails, I just know that there are very few "sure things" in this world and if we waited for sure things, we'd probably never release an arrow.

When I posted my comments regarding the original post, I was simply making a statement about quartering away shots and not referring to his comment of a "straight away" shot. My purpose was to inform hunters of the quartering away shot. Now if you look at his picture, it definitely was a quartering away shot and not a straight away shot.

As mentioned before, in a tree stand the angle of attack is NOT parallel to the buck's body, thus extreme caution and one's best judgment must be made. I think that all depends on the individual's ability as an archer and a hunter. I for one am not an expert archer but I do know my limitations. I haven't crippled a deer in decades because I do not take shots I'm not capable of executing perfectly. I am by far at the bottom of the totem pole as an archer, with regards to being a career hunter. I don't have a problem knowing that my shots stink at long range, so I simply don't take them! Because I am aware of that, deer don't get crippled and my shots pay off. On the ground, you simply cannot find a better, more lethal shot that also hides your draw movement. I think when charlie 01 asked the question, you should answer that based on YOUR personal ability and not his. If he can take that shot and do it consistently, more power to him.

"A fool learns from his own mistake but a wiseman learns from a fool's mistake "

When I posted my comments regarding the original post, I was simply making a statement about quartering away shots and not referring to his comment of a "straight away" shot. My purpose was to inform hunters of the quartering away shot. Now if you look at his picture, it definitely was a quartering away shot and not a straight away shot.

I don't know Marc, Charlie has taken a bus load of deer with a bow, & if he says it was straight away ... well, it must have been.

The only problem I have with Charlie is that he's a selfish sob, or he'd take me hunting with him ... but I digress. [:D] No, seriously, the only thing that puzzles me is the fact that the penetration of that arrow is quite shallow ... probably slowed by the ribs ... but what could he have hit that dropped that buck so quickly? [8|]

Spine shot. But I suspect that the arrow went in a lot further than what's shown, and he only has the arrow where it is to show the angle of entry. It has to be, because no way would the arrow as shown penetration-wise killed that deer. That, and there's way too much blood for a spine shot.

Hopefully he'll respond and let us know if it was a pass-through, or whatever.

Spine shot. But I suspect that the arrow went in a lot further than what's shown, and he only has the arrow where it is to show the angle of entry. It has to be, because no way would the arrow as shown penetration-wise killed that deer. That, and there's way too much blood for a spine shot.

Hopefully he'll respond and let us know if it was a pass-through, or whatever.

A bit off topic now. Spine shots. I never try them on purpose, but when it happens it sure is nice to drop them in their tracks.

Both of my doe kills last year (one bow, one gun) were spine shots. Although not my intention, zero tracking was nice. Bow kill ducked a bit on the shot. Gun kill...not sure what happened. I'm usually dead on with the gun. Either way, 2 kills with zero tracking.